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Mafia extortion aggravated by racism: arrests and confiscations in Palermo

The anti-Mafia department of Palermo is investigating on the violence against the immigrant traders in the Palermo’s district of Ballarò.
The police operation has started after the brave stance of some sellers, who wanted to stop the oppressive situation that suffocate them for long time.
The reaction follows an harsh aggression against Yusupha Susso, a 21 years old student that had been wounded to the head by a gun shot fired by Emanuele Rubino. The Italian guy has been arrested along with his brother under the accuse of attempted murder. Susso, after month of submission , reacted to the aggression and for this reason he has been chased and shooted. The wounds had caused him coma, but fortunately he woke up unharmed. The police operation ‘Maqueda’, that take its name from the street of the aggression, with the support of Yusupha Susso, the inhabitants and migrants of the neighborhood, is discovering a huge extortion racket against foreigners workers.

After the attempted murder of the young student, people living in the district started a protest claiming that “ violence is pervading our neighborhood taking advantage of the weakest, especially the foreign workers”. This manifestation of solidarity gave the immigrant workers, submitted for years by the criminal organization, the strength to speak up. Thank to this manifested support thirteen foreigners workers denounced their blackmailers, leading to the arrest of ten suspects accused of robbery, extortion, domestic violence and attempted murder, all kind of crimes strictly related to the Mafia’s method of operating.

The last development of the investigation is the confiscation of goods for an overall value of € 200.000: two commercial activity in Calderai street, an internet point and a general shop, and a car. Cultrona, one of the arrested suspects , has been charged with the accusation of robbery, extortion with the aggravating circumstance of Mafia’s operating method. We can read in the verdict that Cultrona -along with Gaetano Presti- was the delegate of Cosa Nostra (the major criminal organization in Sicily) for collecting money from this racket.

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